A simple proof of the Skolem-Mahler-Lech theorem (Q1084125)

The author gives a simple proof of the following theorem, due to Skolem, Mahler, Lech: given a sequence \((a_n)\) which satisfies a linear recursion over a field of characteristic 0, the set \(\{n\in \mathbb{N}\mid a_n=0\}\) is ultimately periodic. The usual proofs use \(p\)-adic analysis. The proof of the author is elementary and self-contained.